Los Altos families go all in for their children – sports, dance, music, fencing, tutoring, the best schools. We research pediatricians, debate school curricula, and obsess over nutrition labels. We plan meticulously. But are we paying equal attention to health hazards hiding in plain sight – in our parks and in our own homes?
Two items in the April 1 Town Crier deserve closer attention than they may have received.
The playground – and the playing field
The front page reports on new “Pour-In-Place” rubber surfacing installed at Hillview Park. What caught resident Laura Fay’s eye was striking: workers installing the material wore full-body protective suits and respirators, and the chemical binder was labeled “Danger.” City Manager Engeland called the surface safe, citing government research. But that same research found elevated levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), benzothiazole, and other harmful chemicals – several linked to cancer, hormonal disruption, and developmental harm. “Limited exposure” is not “no hazard,” particularly for children whose immune and detoxification systems are still developing.
The same concern extends to artificial turf. The crumb rubber infill used in most synthetic turf fields is made from the same recycled tire material as Pour-In-Place surfaces — and carries the same chemical burden. PAHs, PFAS, benzothiazole, and heavy metals have all been documented in artificial turf infill. Children playing on these fields face identical exposure pathways: hand-to-mouth ingestion after contact with the surface, inhalation of particles and off-gassed compounds, and skin contact during falls and slides. Athletes – who spend hours on these surfaces, often in intense physical exertion and heavy breathing – face prolonged and elevated exposure. Several studies have explored potential links between artificial turf exposure and elevated cancer rates among soccer goalkeepers, who have the most direct and frequent contact with the infill material. While research is ongoing, the precautionary principle argues strongly for caution.
The hazard from both surfaces operates through three distinct pathways. First, children ingest these chemicals directly – they fall, roll, press their faces into surfaces, and routinely put hands to mouths. Second, on hot days these surfaces reach 140°F, off-gassing volatile organic compounds directly into the breathing zone of playing children, whose developing lungs are especially vulnerable. Third – and this affects every Los Altos resident, not just families with young children – PFAS “forever chemicals” leach through soil into groundwater. The California Water Service draws on local groundwater as part of our regional drinking water supply. PFAS don’t break down; they accumulate in the environment and in human tissue over time. The EPA has set drinking water limits for several PFAS compounds at just 4 parts per trillion – a threshold that reflects how potent these substances are even in vanishingly small amounts.
Hillview Park has already been installed. Grant and Shoup Parks may be next. The cumulative contamination risk grows with every installation. The city should pause, apply the precautionary principle, and evaluate safer natural alternatives before proceeding.
The home
David Cain’s letter described switching his home off gas as an “electrifying experience” – and it is. But the health case for doing so is even more compelling than he described.
Stanford researchers found that gas stoves alone expose children to nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter at levels rivaling outdoor pollution – linked to asthma, lung disease, and an estimated 50,000 pediatric asthma cases nationally. But the stove is just one appliance. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District found that gas furnaces and water heaters together emit nearly 3,700 tons of nitrogen oxides and 458 tons of fine particulate matter into our regional air annually. The health consequences are significant: up to 85 premature deaths, 110 new asthma cases, and 15,000 asthma attacks each year in the Bay Area alone.
Unlike the playground surfaces, this hazard has a straightforward remedy. Electric alternatives – heat pumps, induction stoves, heat pump water heaters — are readily available, increasingly affordable, and often eligible for rebates and other financial incentives.
The bottom line
We invest enormous energy planning for our children’s futures. We choose their schools carefully, monitor their diets, and chauffeur them to every lesson and practice. It’s time to apply that same careful attention to what they’re breathing, touching, and ultimately drinking. Los Altos can and should lead on both of these issues – insisting on safer park surfaces and accelerating the transition away from gas in our homes and public buildings.
Our children – and all of us – deserve nothing less.
